Enhancing the robustness of the equipotential ring of edge termination for 4.5KV IGBT by introducing a Partial N layer

A novel insulated-gate bipolar transistor IGBT featuring a Partial N-Layer is proposed. The static and dynamic processes of the reverse blocking property at room temperature and high temperature for 4.5KV IGBT are investigated. It is discovered that the leakage current crowding in the equipotential ring induced the temperature filament and eventually lead the thermal destruction of the devices. Then a well-designed Partial N-Layer in the active and transition region is introduced to diminish the leakage current and relax electric field in the equipotential ring of edge termination. Simulated and measured results show that the IGBT with Partial N-Layer can enhance the robustness of the edge termination towards reverse voltage biasing not only at room temperature but also at the high temperature comparing with the conventional IGBT. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.